APRIL I, 1915] 
THE WAR AND BRITISH CHEMICAL 
INDUSTRY. 
VUTINIGNG he WeRGeiy Ol Ba Ne Cle _ scheme, every member of the Cabinet, together 
tion and the discussion which has been 
taking place on the Government scheme, it has | 
been thought expedient to issue part iv. of a 
memorandum dealing with the entire question of 
the ‘““War and British Economic Policy.” It is 
published by Messrs. P. S. King and Son, of 
\Vestminster, and a brief summary of it is given 
in the Chemical News of February 26. British 
industries use annually dyes to the value of nearly 
2,250,000l., of which about 1,750,o00l. come 
from Germany, about 150,000]. from Switzerland, 
and only about 200,000l. are of British home pro- | 44 My. W. P. Dreaper, who, as chemist to the 
duction. Aniline dyes constitute an indispensable 
material in many branches of the textile, leather, 
paper, and other industries, and the annual value 
of the goods in which they are an essential or | 
important part is estimated at 200,000,000. 
. The opinions of a large number of firms inter- 
NATURE 

ested in the use or manufacture of aniline dyes are | 
given in the memorandum in question, and em- 
phasis is laid on the fact that the dependence upon 
German supplies is so great that the present 
capacity of British dye works is totally inadequate 
to fill the gap. During the past few weeks the 
Government scheme has formed the subject of | 
numerous articles and letters to the Press, and a 
brief review may here be given of these, so far as 
they deal with the general question of the relation- 
ship between science and industry in this country, 
and ignoring all problems of a political nature, 
such as the question of the necessity for a protec- 
tive tariff for the proposed new industry. 
Post of February 27, after considering the report 
of the debate on the Government dye scheme in 
the House of Commons, concludes that the 
“situation is an almost hopeless one owing to the 
lamentable ignorance of our public men of matters 
scientific.” He illustrates this want of know- 
ledge by a criticism of Mr. Runciman’s recent 
pronouncement that in organising the new scheme 
the Government “had at their elbows two, at 
least, of the greatest chemists of Europe,” a 
description which, it is contended, will “scarcely 
pass muster.” 
If the production of dyes is to be taken in hand 
seriously, and the foundation laid of a permanent 
industry, men must be chosen to manage the enter- 
prise who are as able as was my dear old friend, now 
deceased, Dr. H. Caro, who played so great a part 
in the development of the Badische Anilin Company, 
or as his eminent successor, Prof. Bernthsen is, or 
as is Prof. Duisberg, who has brought the Bayer 
Company to its present proud position, and now 
dominates the whole industry. . . . We have in our 
-ranks men of their type who would be immediately 
available. But apparently the advisers of the Govern- 
ment want subordinate intellects, not leaders. 
Dr. M. O. Forster, in a characteristically ironi- 
cal letter to the same journal, points out that the 
establishment of an indigenous dye industry “‘is, 
has been, and ever will be as much a question of 
education as of trade. Education of legislators, 
NO. 2370, VOL. 95] 

| Government officials, 
119 

manufacturers, and mer- 
chants.” It was to have been wished that before 
taking any steps towards organising the new 
” 
with the other Ministers, “could have been trans- 
ferred bodily to Ludwigshafen and personally 
conducted through the Badische Anilin- und Soda- 
Fabrik.” Dr. Forster depicts with considerable 
humour the astonishment that Mr. Runciman 
and the others might have expressed at the organ- 
isation and laboratories of this firm, and especi- 
ally on finding some actual chemists on the 
directorate. 
Several columns are devoted by the Financier 
of February 12, 23, and March 12 to interviews 
Silk Association, speaks with some authority on 
the practical side of the question. Mr. Dreaper 
also most strongly emphasises the necessity that 
the board of the proposed company should con- 
tain a scientific representation, and the absolute 
importance of securing the best scientific know- 
ledge which is available. He protests against the 
policy of training chemists of the “second class,” 
of which Mr. Runciman seems to consider that 
we have an insufficient supply, and against the 
general lack of understanding which exists 
amongst manufacturers as to what a chemist is 
“owing to the demand that has sprung up in 
certain directions for the 7ol. per annum variety.” 
The lack of appreciation in this country of the 
services of the chemist and the absolute ignor- 
ance on the part of the Government of what re- 
| muneration should be given him is admirably 
| illustrated by the letter of Sir William Tilden in 
F .._ | the Chemical News of February 26, protesting 
Prof. Armstrong, in a letter to the Morning | . ; ; aes 8 
against the salary offered by the Royal Arsenal, 
Woolwich, to assistant chemists in the inspection 
department. At a time when the nation is spend- 
ing 1,250,000l., and will soon be spending 
1,750,0001., per diem on maintaining our army in 
the field, the utmost that the War Office can 
afford to give a chemist who has “had a thorough 
training in inorganic and organic chemistry,” and 
is “a university graduate or member of the Insti- 
tute of Chemistry,” is the sum of 21. os. 6d. per 
week! Such an advertisement “gives one to 
think,” and is, indeed, a striking object lesson of 
the fact which Prof. Armstrong deplores—‘ we 
have had no public use for science in our country, 
and we are blind to our needs and as to our 
opportunities.” 
The whole question of the utilisation of science 
in industry is indeed closely wrapped up with that 
of the miserably insufficient remuneration given 
in the majority of cases to science and scientific 
workers, which Sir Ronald Ross has so strongly 
emphasised in recent numbers of Science Pro- 
gress. So long as the prospects of the young 
chemist and the remuneration that he receives are 
of the order indicated in the above advertisement 
there is little hope of developing in this country 
industries that require the services of large num- 
bers of highly-trained scientific workers. 
It is interesting to find a politician like Mr. 
L. G. Chiozza Money, M.P., emphasising the 
